Former deputy coroner seeks 9th District Indiana House seat

Former LaPorte County deputy coroner Sean Fitzpatrick has withdrawn his candidacy for LaPorte County Council and has filed instead for 9th District state representative. If elected, Fitzpatrick would succeed fellow Democrat Scott Pelath, who declined to run for another term.

“Indianapolis is desperately in need of fresh ideas, new energy and an end to politics as usual,” Fitzpatrick said in a press release. “They are just not dealing with issues that really matter.”

Fitzpatrick, 41, is treasurer of the LaPorte County Democratic Party. In 2017 he lost by one vote to Mike Mollenhauer in his bid to fill a LaPorte County Council vacancy. The vote by Democratic precinct committeepeople was 36-35.

“The caucus showed me that voters are hungry for youthful energy and fresh ideas and I’m prepared to go to Indianapolis to stand up and be counted on issues that really matter for our area,” Fitzpatrick said.

He gave examples of what he calls Indianapolis politics as usual:

— Legislators this year “spent an absurd about of time debating Sunday sales of alcohol, when we have an opioid epidemic ravaging our cities and towns. As a former deputy coroner, I’ve seen too much needless death and destruction of families. I want to see Narcan in every police cruiser and first responders trained on how to prevent overdoses.”

— “Priorities are sadly off kilter in Indianapolis when bills like allowing loan sharks at payday lenders to triple the interest rates they charge gets passed by the Indiana House and yet we can’t get a bill passed to cover textbook fees to parents, unlike 45 other states where those fees are covered.

— “The same with a bias crime bill, which gets killed again this year, leaving Indiana alone among just five states without one, yet this legislature can spend days debating the insane question of whether convenience stores can sell beer cold or not. C’mon, let’s get real and focus on issues that matter in the everyday lives of our constituents.”

Fitzpatrick, his wife, Terri, and their children live in Coolspring Township. He is a member of the Family Advocates Board of Directors and the Commission on the Status of African American Males, and is vice chairman of the Michigan City Housing Authority Board.